As Sheila Sattler Kale gardens in the Texas Hill Country she ponders God's love and provision.
As we work the soil of our garden,
He works the soil of our heart.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Does God Miss Me?

"...I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness." Jeremiah 31:3

Surprise visitor in my strawberries

The dark rabbit appeared sometime in the spring. Several times I caught a glimpse of her and thought she was a neighbor’s cat.

One day, seeing it nibbling in my strawberry patch, I looked through my binoculars to see if that cat really was eating my plants. There sat a luscious brown—almost black—rabbit!

tentative rabbit

No wonder we weren’t getting any strawberries!

But it was so beautiful; I went out with my camera to capture some images. She—who knows if it’s a ‘she’ or ‘he’—ran a safe distance, then stopped.

As the days passed, she seemed to come out of hiding when I was in the garden, as if she liked being close to someone. One day she hopped over and smelled my shovel, then my feet.

patient rabbit with kids

We’ve become friends. After I discovered she likes apples, I carry a thinly sliced one with me each morning. Eventually, she makes her way over and eats it from my hand.

At daybreak she meets me, except the day after four grandkids followed her all over the garden. She didn’t show herself for a few days then. After our Chihuahua surprised her by our back screened-in porch and went crazy barking, she didn’t return for a while.

Lilah, our Chihuahua

Once in a while, for no known reason, she’s absent. I miss her presence, her ‘drunken sailor’ hopping over to where I’m working. After I’ve finished for the day, I keep looking out the back door, wondering if she’s come late.

As I realized how much I look forward to seeing her each day, how disappointed I am to have a sliced apple but no rabbit to eat her share, I sucked in a deep breath of understanding.

Rabbit keeping me company

Does God delight when I move closer to Him? Does He miss me when I don’t come to sit in His presence? Has He prepared something for me and I’m not available to share it with Him?

Does God, with all His wisdom, love, fore-knowing, and plans for good, long for me with intensity I can’t even comprehend?

Lord God, thank You for the marvelous rabbit. Thank You for the gift of a glimpse of Your longing for me. Amen

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About Me

For 27 years I owned and managed The Closer Walk Christian Bookstore. During that time I hosted retreats, luncheons, and other events. In the last ten years I have been writing a little with some success. I've been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: True Love and other periodicals including industry journals. I am available for speaking engagements.I bring stories filled with humor, encouragement and hope.See my web site: www.sheilascloserwalk.com I am happily married with four children and seven grandchildren.